The Presidential Daily Brief

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Immigration in Europe: Down But Still Kicking

Populist parties have ridden a wave of anti-immigrant sentiment into public office, but there’s one problem: Immigration is drying up. So interior ministers like the Austrian Freedom Party’s Herbert Kickl are innovating to keep the issue alive. Kickl is pushing detention of, say, a law-abiding migrant who has “an explosive belt strapped to his mind” and is calling immigration facilities “departure centers.”

Is it working? Austrian media, especially Vienna tabloids, are migration-obsessed, and Kickl, in a leaked memo, advised police to cooperate only with friendly outlets.